Thank you to Competitions Secretary Mike Potter for the below report.
Shropshire County Doubles Competition played on the greens of Old Shrewsbury Bowling Club on Sun 28th August 2022
From last year’s field of 30, a reduced field of 21 pairs gathered to contest the County Doubles at Old Shrewsbury BC where the entrants and spectators alike were treated to warm, sunny conditions throughout the day that saw Tom Roden & Alex Jones(SJB) become the latest duo to earn the rite for their names to etched on the weighty John Bowers Challenge Cup as County Doubles Champions after defeating, Simon Rhodes & Jamie Taylor(Bylet) 21-09 in the final of the competition that brought the curtain down on over 8 hours action at the Shrewsbury venue.
Highlights of the action included
Quarter finals:
Tom Roden & Alex Jones wasted little time establishing a very strong lead of 4-2, 10-4 and 18-4 before Will Tyler & Jacob Lyttle grabbed the jack and held it for 6 ends, long enough to see them into double figures, only to have Tom & Alex dash their chances 21-10.
Matt Parry & Dave Renwick played an even game against Rhys Marshall & Anthony Gray until when the scores lay at 14-14, Matt & Dave took control of the jack and had run out within 4 ends, winning 21-14.
Simon Rhodes & Jamie Taylor quickly found themselves 2-9 down before fighting back against Jon Lyttle & Will Childs to level at 13-13 and carried on to finish the game with two full house fours and won 21-13.
Hayden Lewis & Keith Wall shared an even game with defending champions, Peter Farmer & Mike Wainwright as the scores went down the card 6-6, 8-8 and 14-14, however Hayden & Keith came out on top as although both won 3 each of the next half dozen ends, as they restricted Peter & Mike to single chalks, they were able to score multiple chalks that saw them home 21-17.
Semi Finals:
Tom Roden & Alex Jones turned a 2-4 deficit into a lad of 12-4 against Matt Parry & Dave Renwick, who responded and got back to within two, only for Tom & Alex, from 12-10 run out in four ends to book their ticket to the final, 21-10.
Meanwhile, Simon Rhodes & Jamie Taylor were battling out a 29 end game against Hayden Lewis & Keith Wall with the counting bowl constantly changing hands through most ends that eventually gave us the inevitable tight finish that saw Simon & Jamie just scrape home and win 21-20.
The Final:
With both pairings emerging from the five preliminary games earlier, Tom Roden & Alex Jones and Simon Rhodes & Jamie Taylor began their fifth games very evenly 3-3 (5 ends), 6-6 (9 ends) & 8-8 (12 ends) until Tom & Alex found a 35 metre, ¾ corners mark and capitalised on it, only dropping a single chalk in the next 8 ends to complete another run out, winning 21-9 (20 ends) to give them the victory and the title as County Doubles champions 2022.
After thanking the members of Old Shrewsbury BC for their hospitality and head groundsman, Richard Jones for the use of his two superbly presented greens, President/Competition Sec, Mike Potter presented the prizes to the deserving pairings and the Champions trophy to the delighted Tom Roden & Alex Jones.
Well Done lads,
MP
